This tasty homemade pumpkin spice creamer that’s healthy and made with real pumpkin and no refined sugar. Made with homemade pumpkin pie spice, and much healthier than the powder! You don’t have to wonder when pumpkin creamer comes out on the shelves, you can enjoy this all year long!
It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of everything pumpkin flavored. When fall comes around, pumpkin bread, pumpkin donuts, and pumpkin smoothies are a regular part of my mornings.
And I LOVE a good pumpkin spice latte from my local Starbucks coffee shop…But paying full price is a little out of the daily budget.
The next best thing is a hot cup of home-brewed coffee with pumpkin spice creamer. I COULD get a store bought Coffee-Mate Natural Bliss Pumpkin Spice Flavored Creamer… which I did for research… but being the frugal foodie that I am, I wanted to come up with a pumpkin creamer that has no artificial flavors and tasted just as good, if not better!
Reasons to Make Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer
1. Artificial flavors. There are new brands of flavored coffee creamer on the market now touting “natural flavors,” but my stance hasn’t changed. The US Food & Drug Administration’s labeling requirements to use the phrase “natural flavors” is still very broad.
Honestly, my internal red flags go up when I buy any Pumpkin Creamer that has neither pumpkin nor spice listed as ingredients. Besides natural flavors, there are other ingredients you should be leery of too in your coffee creamer. Specifically, hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn syrup.
2. Hydrogenated oils. These oils are known as trans fat. For a while now the FDA has known trans fat is not healthy for the human body. It wasn’t until 2015 when they also decided that partially hydrogenated oils are no longer generally recognized as safe either.
Despite these rulings, some loopholes allow hydrogenated oils to be in your food, including your coffee creamer.
3. High fructose corn syrup. It is created in a factory using a 7-step process to convert corn into a sweetener. In the conversion process, strains of bacteria known to cause anthrax and food poisoning are added to the starch. In addition to this, pesticides are also used.
The result is a 90% concentration of fructose. (To give you an idea of just how sweet this is, honey is roughly 37% fructose.)
4. Unnecessary ingredients. You may find a coffee creamer that doesn’t contain either of these on the ingredient list, but it probably contains one of these:
- Corn syrup
- Sugar
- Artificial flavor (which could be anything)
- Artificial color (again, which could be anything)
5. Cost. If your coffee creamer does truly have natural ingredients, I’m guessing it costs an arm and a leg.
6. Availability. You don’t have to worry anymore about when pumpkin spice creamer comes out on the store shelves. You can make this all year long!
Here’s What You Need
- Whole milk
- Heavy cream
- Pumpkin puree (canned or homemade)
- Maple syrup
Notes on Ingredients
- Whole milk and cream. This is the key to making it taste just like the cream you buy at the store. (Note: I did not say skim milk, or half-and-half, or 2% milk, or using all cream, or anything else.)
- Pumpkin. You can follow this recipe for real pumpkin puree (with instructions on how to freeze extras). Or you can buy pure pumpkin in a can. Both work for this recipe.
- Spices. Use authentic spices. You need the warm spices found in the pumpkin pie spice blend. I HIGHLY recommend making your spice blend. You most likely have all the ingredients, like cinnamon and nutmeg, and it will save you some money.
- Maple syrup. Be sure to use real maple syrup. I didn’t want to use sugar because my family has made great strides in quitting sugar. Maple syrup and pumpkin go together REALLY well.
Step By Step Instructions
Step 1. Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan.
Step 2. Bring to a boil over medium heat or high heat and immediately remove from the heat, whisk often with a flat whisk as it cools to prevent scalding of the milk and burning of the sugars.
Step 3. Add to your coffee as desired.
Recipe Tip
You can store this homemade pumpkin spice coffee creamer in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
FAQs
Pumpkin spice coffee creamer is seasonal. It is only available for a limited time, but when you make it from scratch it is ready for you when you like!
The taste of half and half is very similar to milk. Creamer however gives your coffee more of a heavenly sweet taste.
Coffee-mate isn’t great for your health since it contains preservatives, partially hydrogenated oils, and refined sugar. It lacks nutritional value. I talk more about this above. Try making it from scratch and your body and wallet will thank you.
To Serve
After I weaned myself off coffee creamer and sugar, I learned to enjoy coffee with just almond milk and no sweetener. However, it didn’t take overnight to get to this point. Baby steps are OK!
I still like my coffee with almond milk or coconut milk. If you’re feeling like you want a fancy flavored coffee, you can add a dash of vanilla extract or a substitute and whipped cream.
In the winter, I love to make vanilla bean coffee creamer.
More Pumpkin Recipes
- Pumpkin Spice Coffee
- Healthy Homemade Pumpkin Pie
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Slow Cooker Pumpkin Chili
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Homemade Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer
This tasty homemade pumpkin spice creamer that’s healthy and made with real pumpkin and no refined sugar. Made with homemade pumpkin pie spice, and much healthier than the powder! You don’t have to wonder when pumpkin creamer comes out on the shelves, you can enjoy this all year long!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 1 cup 1x
- Category: Beverages
- Method: Boil
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 Tbsp pumpkin puree (canned or homemade)
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (store-bought or homemade)
- 2 Tbsp maple syrup (or more to taste)
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan.
- Bring to a boil over medium heat or high heat and immediately remove from the heat, whisk often with a flat whisk as it cools to prevent scalding of the milk and burning of the sugars.
- Add to your coffee as desired.
Notes
Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
- Calories: 468
Could you make a larger batch and store it in the fridge? Shake before you use to bend ingredients again. Also, thank you for this!
Hi Melody,
You sure can! 🙂
They are wrong about when you can only get pumpkin spice seasonal. Amazon carry it but their sold out but some Walmart have it. I’m deparately seeking pumpkin spice (not pumpkin pie spice, there’s definatelhy a difference). That is the ONLY CREAMER I like. Pumpkin Spice will only do.
This sounds Heavenly and will definitely be making this. Do you happen to have an apple spice one at all?
Hi Julie,
We don’t have an apple spice creamer recipe at this point, but I will definitely make a suggestion for future recipes. Thanks so much!
I wonder if you could use canned apples, blend with condensed milk, half-n-half, and apple pie spice. Put through a sifter to eliminate remaining solid pieces.
For the sake of speed I whipped this up in my magic bullet instead of heating on the stovetop and it tastes great. Does heating make it last longer in the fridge, or is the purpose just to help the ingredients incorporate?
Hi Chelsea! Just to help the ingredients incorporate. If the magic bullet did the trick, go for it!!
can’t wait to try this, esp now that I know that the magic bullet can be used …thanks!
Good coffee doesn´t need additional things like pumpkin or spices, I just use milk, not cream, and it is either almond milk or some other nutmilk. I never use bought “creamers”!
Good coffee may not “need” additional things, but it’s sometimes fun to enjoy a flavored cup of coffee!
Right on sistah!!
So happy you like it!
Mmmm! Sounds delicious-I’m going to make it this afternoon so I have some ready for tomorrow mornings coffee. With Christmas just around the corner, do you have a recipe for a gingerbread creamer?
I came up with this years ago: https://dontwastethecrumbs.com/2013/10/create-your-own-gingerbread-latte/, but to be honest, I’d take the spices from the gingerbread and use the method and other ingredients from the PS recipe. 🙂
I really liked the recipe! It’s looking delicious. I really need to start making my own creamer and this is a perfect flavor to start with. How long does it last in the fridge?
Thanks, Amanda!
It lasts about 4-5 days in the fridge.
I completely agree with the ‘plastic’ take. I’m on your side.
I will be trying this. Ty!
I’m all for homemade creamers (so much tastier!) but I’m baffled as to where you’re finding 90% HFCS or who is manufacturing it. I’ve only found literature for commonly available HFCS below 60% fructose concentration. I work in the biofuels industry and some of our customers make it as well, and to my knowledge they aren’t producing it above 55%, although I’m neither an expert nor omniscient 🙂
This can shed more light Danielle: https://www.naturalnews.com/048938_high_fructose_corn_syrup_labeling.html
Hi I was wondering if you had a lactose free variation of this recipe. Most of the store bought coffee matte coffee creamers are lactose free.
I’m sorry Monique, I don’t!
I found Tiffany’s post via Pinterest, and thought about trying to use soy milk for the heavy cream, and something thinner for the whole milk part, like almond milk or rice milk. Or maybe you could use your preferred non-lactose milk for all of it? Though it will be rather on the thin side, probably. I hope that helps you–this recipe looks too good not to make!
I have been able to find lactose free milk and lactose free heavy cream. If any of your local stores carry those, just substitute them in and the result will be lactose free!
This lasted about a week in the fridge Amanda. Enjoy!
Yes! Thank you. Did you mention Irish Cream? My favorite. Maybe there is a Don’t Waste the Crumbs version on the horizon? Yes, please. Happy Monday, Tiffany.
I did! I don’t have a recipe for that as of right now, but I’ll look into it! 😉